TWINDERGARTEN

Name: TWINDERGARTEN
Author: Nikki Ehrlich
ISBN: 978-0-06-256423-8

by Nikki Ehrlich ; illustrated by Zoey Abbott Wagner ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2017

Not just for sharing with twins or separated best friends—readers will be reassured that the hot-and-cold seesaw of emotions...

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How will twins assigned to different kindergarten classrooms survive the first day of school?

Biracial (black/white) twins Zoe and Dax are inseparable…until school starts, that is. On the night before the first day, Dax has jitters and doubts, so he pushes his bed closer to Zoe’s, while Zoe is confident, holding her brother’s hand as they go to sleep to reassure him. But in the morning, when their parents drop them off at school, their roles suddenly reverse. Dax quickly makes a new friend and has a great day. But Zoe just longs for her brother. The two make the most of their joint recess time, but all too soon it’s over. A note from her brother turns out to be the key to helping Zoe feel more secure, and she finally joins in with new friends. While this turnaround seems a bit too quick to be believable, it’s nonetheless encouraging that both have good days in the end. The white backgrounds in the colored-pencil illustrations keep the focus on the twins and their emotions, made clear through body language and facial expressions. Their classes (and teachers!) are nicely diverse, and Wagner gives readers a peek at kindergarten goings-on.

Not just for sharing with twins or separated best friends—readers will be reassured that the hot-and-cold seesaw of emotions they may be experiencing is normal. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 1, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-06-256423-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 14, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK LOST AND FOUND

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 2026

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.

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Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.

After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026

ISBN: 9780063436121

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)